Just a short blurb tonight, but wanted to share it tonight, while I’m still very much feeling it. I played on my upright for the first time in a couple weeks tonight, and I was horrendous trying to work through a jazz etude with the metronome. My timing was off, my sight reading was off . . . I was off. So I turned the metronome off.
In his book “Effortless Mastery,” Kenny Werner suggests that when working on a new piece, you have choices in playing all or sections, and playing in time or with perfection. It was a longer piece, with tricky timing issues, so playing “all” wasn’t in the cards. Playing “in time” wasn’t working all that great, either – probably in part because of the tricky timing issues involved. When I turned off the metronome, I managed to play perfectly.
While the metronome has its place (and a significant one), once freed of its persistent click, my playing was freed. I started to swing – on a piece that doesn’t really swing. It was magic.
I finished with the piece, and just jammed. And accidentally hit a harmonic. I remember when I first discovered harmonics – and maybe the happy accident sparked that original wonder. Maybe I was still on my magical high from my swinging triplets. I hit it again, this time deliberately. I played harmonics on other parts of the fretboard. It was joy. It was simple. It was magic. I loved just listening to tones, not with any idea of music, but just the tones themselves. I felt like a kid.
It’s nice to feel like a kid now and then, playing not with any purpose – but that’s what makes it “playing,” It was fun. It felt like play.
And that’s why we play.
The Book of Five Strings 